Getting the provision they deserve

Ensuring that families' voices are actively listened to is a core TCES value and I was delighted that so many parents and carers took part in our recent workshop aimed at preparing a submission to the SEND Review Green Paper consultation.

We focused on the questions of most interest to parents within the time available and in a series of articles I thought it would be really useful to share their views. These are parents who have been at the sharp end of the shortage of specialist places and funding crisis that Schools Week has been highlighting throughout this year.

I've been working in specialist education for more than 20 years, but it was still shocking to hear some of our parents' experiences. One parent spoke of being offered just one place in a special school that had a two-year waiting list. She told us: 'I was offered no further support, so it was either a case of accepting that my son would be out of school for two years or do the legwork myself, find and fight for something else.' Another shared her experience of vital CAMHS support being removed from her child's EHCP when they moved borough owing to different thresholds.

Consultation question: How can parents and local authorities most effectively work together to produce a tailored list of placements that is appropriate for their child, and gives parents confidence in the EHCP process??

Our TCES parents want a duty placed on Local Authorities so that where a suitable school place does not exist in their own borough, parents are supported by their Local Authority to find and be offered one in another borough.??

Parents suggest the following actions:

• Ensure that all Local Authorities have detailed information about all specialist provision within reasonable travelling distance and that they publish it in an accessible format for families.
• In addition, ensure that the Local Authority is duty bound to offer an out of borough placement if they cannot meet need in borough. Parent J told us that trying to place within borough means social workers are forever trying to fit square pegs into round holes.?
• Ensure that all individual social worker knowledge of specialist provision is captured and collated centrally by the Local Authority, so that it serves as collective knowledge for all current and any new staff to draw on. Parent M had five case workers and only achieved a breakthrough for her son thanks to one of them knowing about TCES.??
• Ensure that knowledge of specialist provision is up to date and granular so that provision is recommended based on a clear understanding of what it can and cannot offer in the context of individual children’s needs. Parents recommend that case workers go into the schools and see for themselves.
• Ensure that the Local Authority is impartial and is recommending schools based on what will best meet the child’s need. Parent T said she was offered just one school for her son which had a two-year waiting list and was offered no further support, meaning she had to find another school herself or accept that he would be out of school for a prolonged period.?
• Invest in more specialist provision for specific and complex needs. Parent H said that her son has complex needs and it’s hard to find a school that can work with all of them. Other parents reported being offered places that met one of the needs, but at the expense of their child’s overall development. Parent P said she was offered a non-verbal school for her son who has ASD and ADHD but is also verbal.??

Lack of places for our children means that social workers are forever trying to fit square pegs into round holes.

To build confidence in the EHCP process parents need to know that they will get the tailored placement that their child is entitled to without facing enormous hurdles which in many cases have taken a significant toll on their own mental health.?

• TCES parents want to see a nationwide strategy for EHCPs to ensure that the process is tight, well-documented and uniform across the country.??
• This would include a standard format for EHCPs to avoid unnecessary administration and worry. Parent J reported that her grandson had changed boroughs and it took weeks to change the format of his EHCP so that it met the requirements of his new borough.??
• Parents want to see absolute parity of provision and eligibility for said provision (levelling up, not down) across Local Authorities. Parent J described how she moved between London boroughs and the threshold for CAMHS was different, meaning that her son was no longer eligible for some of the support he was getting.

To work effectively with children like ours staff need proper training, they need to understand trauma.

Parents report that social and case workers’ (and sometimes SENCOs) knowledge of how to meet the needs of children like theirs is patchy. This resulted in either no advice, or advice that was very basic to the point of being patronising (e.g. ‘have? you tried a sticker chart?’). Parents want to see knowledgeable, skilled and empathetic professionals who are open to having collaborative, authentic relationships with parents to get what is best for their children.?

• TCES parents are insistent that there should be investment in the skills and training that staff need to properly support children with complex needs and specific diagnoses Parent K said that people working with children like ours need to understand trauma. Parent J noted that her friends with primary-aged children with PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance) feel unsupported as there is no specialist provision and little understanding of the condition.?
• An immediate improvement they would like to see is that handovers between case workers are thorough and comprehensive so that important knowledge and information is not lost. Parent H noted that parents have little time to waste and shouldn’t need to keep telling the same story to the professionals who are meant to be supporting them.?

Thanks for reading and do look out for further articles in which I'll be sharing more thoughtful recommendations from our parents to improve the system for children and young people with SEND.